Old MacDonald Had a Farm

A poem on familial pressure and immigrant guilt

Old mac Donald had a farm

E-I-E-I-O

and on his farm he had a duck

E-I-E-I-O

so he tells her, it’s more profitable to be a cow right now

plucks her feathers. Cuts off her wings

rips off the beak

tattoos spots to onto her skin

Yells, “I command you to produce milk!”

and when little duckie fails

he tells her he is very disappointed in her failure

a disgrace to the family

mentions how Farmer Smith’s little Sammy produced milk the first try

this is a land animals world don’t you know,

girl?

what use is flying when the grass is on the ground,

baby girl?

so if you can’t walk

then crawl

Old mac Donald had a farm

E-I-E-I-O

And on his farm he had a duck

E-I-E-I-O

With a moo moo here and a moo moo there

Here a moo, there a moo

Everywhere a moo moo

ZUVA is an award-winning Leeds based spoken word artist, poet and freelance writer. Click here to join her weekly mail list to get her top 10* tips on editing like a pro!

She is the editor of An Injustice! A intersectional millennial publication. Check here for now to join!